HB 2081 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to the establishment of the Building Better Futures Program to support educational and occupational skills training opportunities and support services for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities at public and private institutions of higher education.

HB 2081 establishes the Building Better Futures Program to provide educational and occupational skills training for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities at Texas public and private colleges. The program requires participating institutions to have U.S. Department of Education approval for transition programs, implement selective admissions, and award certificates upon completion. It exempts participating programs from certain existing education code requirements (Sections 61.0512 and 61.822) and creates a competitive funding process administered by the Texas Education Agency. The bill directly affects students with disabilities seeking inclusive higher education opportunities and the institutions offering these specialized programs, effective immediately after the Governor signed it on May 26, 2025.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Mar 14, 2025 Signed May 26, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossed Enrolled · 3 edits · May 26, 2025
MINOR
The bill was finalized for signature with minor formatting adjustments and the addition of a new Section 3 establishing an immediate effect if approved by a two-thirds vote, otherwise taking effect on September 1, 2025. The substantive policy content regarding the Building Better Futures Program remains unchanged from the Engrossed version.
TIMELINE

Added Section 3 specifying that the Act takes effect immediately if it receives a two-thirds vote in both legislative houses; otherwise, it takes effect on September 1, 2025.

TECHNICAL

Removed draft metadata, page numbers, and formatting artifacts from the Engrossed version; added standard enrolled bill formatting including signatures and certification blocks.

Inserted a note at the top regarding digital content accessibility updates to WCAG 2.1 standards, which appears to be a system note rather than part of the bill text.

Floor votes · House May 1, 2025

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
47
Key actions
15
Committee
10
May 26, 2025
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor
executive
May 14, 2025
Upper · Passed
Signed in the Senate
upper
May 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Signed in the House
lower
May 13, 2025
Lower · Passed
Senate passage reported
lower
May 13, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
May 8, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
May 8, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendments
upper
May 6, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
May 5, 2025
Committee
Referred to Education K-16
upper
May 5, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
May 5, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
May 2, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
May 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment
lower
Apr 25, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
Apr 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Apr 22, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
Apr 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Apr 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Mar 14, 2025
Committee
Referred to Higher Education
lower
Mar 14, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
6 primary · 3 co-sponsors

Sponsors